Andrew Takano’s fascination with the sky is obvious from the opening moments of “Sleepwalking Austin,” a time-lapse video postcard of the city shot by Takano in the middle of the night last spring that has notched nearly 30,000 views on YouTube.

Set to a dreamy synth-pop soundtrack, the clip opens on an inky expanse salted with stars before giving way to neon jets hurriedly descending upon Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

It’s a fitting image considering Takano is earning his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. He specializes in orbital mechanics, or, simply put, “how things fly around in space and how to control how things fly around in space.”

Takano produced the video with a technique called hyperlapse, achieved by taking still photographs from a tripod and moving the set-up a few inches in between each photo. He then edits the photographs into a video using the computer programs Lightroom and Sony Movie Studio. It’s a tedious process that relies on precision and concentration, not elaborate equipment or trick shots.

“Nobody wants to believe that the secret ingredient to anything is hard work,” says Takano.

He first experimented with time-lapse photography when trying to capture the Comet PANSTARRS that was visible over Austin in March. He started the “Sleepwalking Austin” project in order to give himself a break from 70-hour study weeks for his Ph.D. qualifying exams.

He found that stepping behind the camera freed him from some of the structure that comes with lab work.

“In engineering, there are physical laws and constraints like budgets and hardware limitations that conspire to drive you toward a certain solution. There is not a lot of room for your aesthetics,” Takano says. “But for photography, there aren’t really right or wrong answers. It all comes down to how I want it to look. So it pulls from this creative side of me that I don’t use in engineering so much.”

Some online commenters have complained the videos will only encourage more people to move to the rapidly growing capital. Others criticize Takano for not filming much beyond downtown, but he says his goal was to capture the most recognizable parts of Austin and scenes that captured his interest, not the entire city. Meanwhile, he is licensing footage to KXAN News and other local entities.

Takano has a new project in the works, but he’s not yet ready to reveal what it is. One job he does have on the horizon: finishing his Ph.D. in the next two years.

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2013/10/09/austin-timelapse-video/feed/14Hands On and Horns Up: Research is Key to Academic Successhttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2012/08/15/research-starts-with-freshmen/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2012/08/15/research-starts-with-freshmen/#commentsWed, 15 Aug 2012 16:56:03 +0000Mason Joneshttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=27592Maggie Gunn made an unexpected discovery at The University of Texas at Austin.

“You can create an intense, small community and yet be part of a major public research university.”

Gunn, a Plan II honors and English honors student who is also earning a teaching certificate through the UTeach Liberal Arts Program, found mentors as well as research and teaching opportunities that are preparing her for a career in education.

Enjoying the resources of a prestigious university while still creating an individualized course of study? Students say that’s what makes The University of Texas at Austin stand out.

A new report based on a survey of 13,120 UT Austin undergraduates showed that 89 percent of all undergraduates — and 94 percent of seniors — participate in some kind of research. Those students are more likely to graduate within four years, earn higher GPAs and pursue graduate school than those who don’t take part in research.

The report dispels the common perceptions that undergraduates get lost in a large university and that meaningful research opportunities are limited to graduate students.

In fact, UT Austin undergraduates are participating in research in and out of the classroom at higher rates than is typical on most college campuses.

This is how The University of Texas at Austin prepares its leaders for the broader world.

“Without my research and hands-on experience in education at UT,” Gunn says, “most of what I would know would just be theory.”

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2012/08/15/research-starts-with-freshmen/feed/2Top scholars make their mark on the worldhttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2012/05/14/top_scholars2012/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2012/05/14/top_scholars2012/#commentsMon, 14 May 2012 19:08:23 +0000palmercrhttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=25485The University of Texas at Austin will mark its 129th spring commencement this Saturday, May 19.

In this video celebrating the remarkable achievements of the class of 2012, graduating students Anustubh Agnihotri, Shannon Allport, Eduardo Chavez, Kelly Moynihan and Natasha Verma describe how their academic experiences inspired them to pursue their passions in research and education.

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2012/05/14/top_scholars2012/feed/1Behind the scenes of the 3-D Tower PSAshttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/12/12/making_of/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/12/12/making_of/#commentsMon, 12 Dec 2011 17:29:57 +0000palmercrhttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=22744The university teamed up with marketing partner GSD&M and projection artists Klip Collective in 2011 on the creation of five new public service announcements (PSAs) to energize the “What Starts Here Changes the World” campaign, celebrate the university’s world-changing alumni and challenge students to aim higher.

The south and east sides of the Tower were transformed with cutting-edge video projections into a twirling Rubik’s cube of alumni portraits.

The first TV spot “Awards” debuted on the Longhorn Network and at Gone To Texas, the university’s new student welcome event, on Aug. 26. The TV spots all appeared on TV channels such as Fox Sports, ABC, the Longhorn Network and ESPN as well as the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium’s high-definition video scoreboard in the fall.

This video showcases some of the behind the scene work it took to pull off the filming of the five 3-D Tower TV spots.

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/12/12/making_of/feed/1TV spots inspire students to change the gamehttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/11/21/tvspots_why/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/11/21/tvspots_why/#commentsMon, 21 Nov 2011 17:53:08 +0000palmercrhttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=21756When a university is as big and bold as The University of Texas at Austin, it’s only fitting that its branding and TV spots are, too.

Along with creative partner GSD&M, the university developed five new public service announcements (PSAs) to energize the “What Starts Here Changes the World” campaign, celebrate the university’s world-changing alumni and challenge students to aim higher. They feature the Tower as a 3-D puzzle, twisting and turning with images of former students emerging from the structure.

The new PSAs will appear on TV channels such as Fox Sports, ABC and ESPN as well as the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium’s high-definition video scoreboard.

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/11/21/tvspots_why/feed/8TV spots inspire students to change the gamehttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/11/07/tvspots_competition/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/11/07/tvspots_competition/#commentsMon, 07 Nov 2011 17:56:53 +0000palmercrhttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=22037When a university is as big and bold as The University of Texas at Austin, it’s only fitting that its branding and TV spots are, too.

Along with creative partner GSD&M, the university developed five new public service announcements (PSAs) to energize the “What Starts Here Changes the World” campaign, celebrate the university’s world-changing alumni and challenge students to aim higher. They feature the Tower as a 3-D puzzle, twisting and turning with images of former students emerging from the structure.

The new PSAs will appear in the future on TV channels such as Fox Sports, ABC and ESPN as well as the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium’s high-definition video scoreboard.

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/11/07/tvspots_competition/feed/0Campaign for Texas: Impact on the worldhttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/10/24/campaign_impact/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/10/24/campaign_impact/#commentsMon, 24 Oct 2011 21:00:36 +0000Mason Joneshttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=21851The Campaign for Texas has had an immense impact on our students, faculty, campus and our community.

President Bill Powers, students, alumni and donors share their stories about how investing in The University of Texas at Austin can change the world.

“The video makes it clear that now, more than ever, the world needs Texas,” Powers said. “I hope it is yet another reason for you to take pride in your university.”

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/10/24/campaign_impact/feed/5TV spots inspire students to change the gamehttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/10/17/tvspots_lookup/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/10/17/tvspots_lookup/#commentsMon, 17 Oct 2011 23:09:51 +0000palmercrhttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=21753When a university is as big and bold as The University of Texas at Austin, it’s only fitting that its branding and TV spots are, too.

Along with creative partner GSD&M, the university developed five new public service announcements (PSAs) to energize the “What Starts Here Changes the World” campaign, celebrate the university’s world-changing alumni and challenge students to aim higher. They feature the Tower as a 3-D puzzle, twisting and turning with images of former students emerging from the structure.

The new PSAs will appear in the future on TV channels such as Fox Sports, ABC and ESPN as well as the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium’s high-definition video scoreboard.

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/10/17/tvspots_lookup/feed/1TV spots inspire students to change the gamehttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/09/19/tvspot_footsteps/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/09/19/tvspot_footsteps/#commentsMon, 19 Sep 2011 20:28:24 +0000Mason Joneshttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=21392When a university is as big and bold as The University of Texas at Austin, it’s only fitting that its branding and TV spots are, too.

Along with creative partner GSD&M, the university developed five new public service announcements (PSAs) to energize the “What Starts Here Changes the World” campaign, celebrate the university’s world-changing alumni and challenge students to aim higher. They feature the Tower as a 3-D puzzle, twisting and turning with images of former students emerging from the structure.

The second PSA, titled “Footsteps,” debuted Saturday, Sept. 17 on the Longhorn Network.

The new PSAs will appear in the future on TV channels such as Fox Sports, ABC and ESPN as well as the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium’s high-definition video scoreboard.

]]>http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/09/19/tvspot_footsteps/feed/1TV spots inspire students to change the gamehttp://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/08/25/tvspot_awards/
http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/08/25/tvspot_awards/#commentsThu, 25 Aug 2011 20:34:28 +0000Mason Joneshttp://www.utexas.edu/know/?p=20963When a university is as big and bold as The University of Texas at Austin, it’s only fitting that its branding and TV spots are, too.

Along with creative partner GSD&M, the university developed five new public service announcements (PSAs) to energize the “What Starts Here Changes the World” campaign, celebrate the university’s world-changing alumni and challenge students to aim higher. They feature the Tower as a 3-D puzzle, twisting and turning with images of former students emerging from the structure.

The first PSA, titled “Awards,” will debut Friday, Aug. 26 on the Longhorn Network, a 24-hour ESPN TV channel.

“The inspiration for the new TV spots comes from how great universities and their alumni are like good parents. They want future generations to chase their dreams and have more fulfilling lives than they did,” said Kathleen Mabley, the university’s director of brand communications.

The filming of the new PSAs drew a great deal of attention from social media and news outlets when production company Klip Collective projected 3-D images of alumni such as Walter Cronkite, Lady Bird Johnson and Ricky Williams on 17 stories of the iconic Tower.

A sneak peak of the TV spots was premiered at Gone to Texas, the university’s annual welcome event for new students on Tuesday night.

“I really love the new UT TV spots that highlight the university’s alumni,” said Student Body President Natalie Butler, who attended Gone to Texas. “They help to inspire new students to build grand plans for themselves, because we definitely have big shoes to fill.”

The new PSAs will appear in the future on TV channels such as Fox Sports, ABC and ESPN as well as the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium’s high-definition video scoreboard.